Ever since Kent posted the MiniCasas on the Tiny House Blog, my love of gypsy caravans has been renewed. The other day I ran across these gypsy caravans for rent and for purchase in France, and was amazed at how beautiful and spacious the designs were. The Roulottes de Campagne were designed by the same company who created the Carré d’étoile or the French Cube. Gypsy caravans like these are offered in over 50 locations within France. They cater to vacationing Europeans, but tiny house lovers can get a lot of ideas on how to live luxuriously in a small space with these beautiful photos.

The caravans are built from partially recycled timber and meet high quality environmental standards. The insulation is made from wool and the windows and doors have double glazing. A hot water heater and electrical wiring is included.

Most of these caravans are around 215-230 square feet and include a kitchen, a bathroom and sleeping facilities as well as plenty of storage, heating for winter use, outdoor living spaces and lovely details including polished brass port-hole windows. They come fully equipped and can accommodate up to four people. Some are even accessible for the disabled. The units start at €29.800 or $41,000 and take 2-4 months to be completed.

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You would’nt have to make the bed; just put a curtain across the opening and straighten the bedding as you leave in the morning, or just before you retire at night. That’s the batchelor way… if you’re married, then you still don’t have to make the bed; that’s what you got a wife for, isn’t it? You know, not sexist; rather a sensible, hopefully mutually agreed upon, division of labor. You make the money, she makes the beds. I offered my wife the choice: any day she didn’t want to do dishes, she does the cooking. In over 22 years, I’ve only done the dishes a few times. I worked in a lot of eateries in my youth; it was the only way to keep up with my voracious appitite.

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My version will have propane for cooking. I prefer to cook on gas. Open flame is always consistant in all gas stoves. I have never found two burners on electric stoves that performed the same, not even on the same stove. With open flame cooking I can cook on gas, charcoal grill, camp fire, etc; and not have to change my cooking techniques.

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great looking project. the interior pictures messed me up though. didn’t realize pics were of 2 different units. one with a flat ceiling and the other arched. question…..how fast can you pull the home down the road? looks to be a double axle hay wagon type that usually sways above certain speeds. thanks, -billS

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Hi Bill, I imagine most of these are hauled on a flatbed trailer to their final destination and this type of wheel is used for very short distances at low speeds. You could build one of these on a modern trailer. Here is an example of one built in Canada http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house-concept/roulottes-en-bois-tango/ and it would be more mobile than the old style. -Kent

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In looking at these, while they would not be good for pulling behind a truck, they WOULD be great out on some property, and you might even be able to do without “building permits” since it is, technically, a mobile wagon and not a “house” connected to a foundation. Besides, if you have acreage, you could hook it to your tractor and have it up on the hilltop in the winter looking over the snow, or down the hill in among the shade trees in the summer as you chose.

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This I could go for. Well done and beautiful to boot. I’m intrigued by the wool insulation. Does anyone have any direct experience with this? How does cost compare to other types of insulation? Is it available in the U.S.?

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Yes. I have a few questions in to the company asking about whether or not the wagons are available in the U.S. If I don’t hear from them, I know someone who speaks French and we will give them a call. This will probably be unnecessary since I’m sure someone there speaks English. 🙂

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I received an email from Marjorie from Esprit Campagne, the company that builds the Roulottes. The units can be shipped to the U.S. fully built and equipped. They are shipped by boat and on long convoy vehicles. They will be happy to work with anyone in the U.S. who is looking to purchase on of the caravans. Marjorie’s email is mp@esprit-campagne.com.

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Wow! I like it! I have always liked Gypsy caravans and wagons. This “Les Roulottes de Campagne” idea is an improvement on the traditional Gypsy caravan designs, because it is available with a real bathroom and a kitchen that has running water. Like the Gypsy wagons, access to the bed requires no ladder. Even my mother could live in such a place, if she were to get rid of most of her belongings. I think this is the perfect home for a single retiree or a senior citizen.

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*Try a wall heater.
*Try a futon couch, with underbed storage, for all items.
*Eliminate the table and benches.
*Try a portable stovetop.
*Place the bathroom along the back wall.
*Try a small corner sink in the bathroom.
*Add a towel shelf over the toilet.

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Absolutely beautiful! I’d move in in a heartbeat!!! Can anyone tell me-are the ‘couches’ twin mattresses? That’s too fabulous if they are, because that makes for so much more sleeping options. And what size is the door? I really like that it’s so open and spacious. The whole thing has a feeling of grand and open! –Dawn

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This is so beautiful. I love the colors. I’ve so been bitten by the tiny house bug. For years I’ve always found myself renting efficiencies…I love the open space and the ability to live nice without spending a ton of money. I’m currently working with a builder to put together a log home using one of the blue print from a tiny house company. It will be nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Affordable no mortgage and I can still have my extra fancy and live amongst good decent mountain country people. Oh wait I’m country people…gotta love home.

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There are Roulottes in the US, but as far as I know, we are the only current US manufacturer of Roulottes and we just began accepting US orders… Most European Roulotte manufacturers cannot ship due to the high cost of freight charges